Eastham youngster heads to World dance competition

Ryan Fitzgerald

Friday

Feb 9, 2018 at 3:01 AM

EASTHAM – Comhghairdeas! That's Irish Gaelic for congratulations, and it's meant for 11-year-old Madeline Schnitzer, an Eastham youngster who will soon travel to Glasgow, Scotland, to compete in the World Irish Dancing Championships at the city's Royal Concert Hall.

Madeline will face-off against other dancers on March 21, in the age 10 to 11 category, after finishing in the top 10 of 43 dancers at the New England Oireachtas (oireachtas is Irish Gaelic for championships) last fall in Hartford, Conn.

She is the first person from the Outer Cape to accomplish this qualification, according to her coach, Colleen Kanaley Dow.

"I've always dreamed to be a world qualifier so this is a dream come true," the youngster said earlier this week, adding that when she learned she would compete in Scotland, "I felt like I could accomplish anything."

Dow owns the Kanaley School of Irish Dance in Hyannis, where Schnitzer attends classes. Fellow classmates Annabelle Chown, 9, of Orleans, and Delaney Kavnaugh, 9, of Brewster, placed first and fourth, respectively, for their performances in the traditional set category at the New England championships. They won't travel to Scotland, though, because the traditional set competition is a non-qualifying category, Dow noted. But that doesn't matter -- Comhghairdeas! to them, too.

Dow said that Annabelle and Delaney have only been dancing for about a year and this year’s New England championship was their first major competition. She said their first objective was to finish in the top half of the dancers and earn a recall, which they both did.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the girls,” Dow told The Cape Codder. “When I first opened the school I did it because I love Irish dance and I wanted kids to love it, too.” Dow grew up dancing and according to the school’s website, she placed in the top five in the New England championships many times between 2005 and 2011, and has herself competed in the world championships.

Dow said that Madeline first started competing in solo competition when she was younger than 8. “We threw her into the big leagues and said ‘let’s see where it gets you,’” she said.

The coach, along with Madeline’s family, will travel with the youngster to Glasgow.

“Madeline’s gotten better every year,” Dow said. “She’s in class three times a week for three hours a time, she also takes ballet classes with the Cape Cod Ballet Theatre for Children, and she practices at home – she’s very committed.”